Silver Plague
by Ferrety
Summary: Gintoki wakes up one day to find a faint purple marking stained on his neck, and he has no idea how to get rid of it. Be Forever Yorozuya spoilers.
1. Never trust a towel to wipe off sins

**A/N: You should probably watch/have watched Be Forever Yorozuya before reading this. Major spoilers are present. Also, Gintama doesn't belong to me obviously. Enjoy!**

He was on the run.

Just when he had found peace, he was on the run once more. Just when he found a home, he was on the road. Just when he found a family, he was alone once again.

It was for their best.

Hand against an old abandoned building, his heavy breath drove the crows to scatter in all directions, leaving him alone with only the light of the starry night sky.

He continued running. They were probably looking for him, and he wished they weren't. Gintoki couldn't bare the thought what would happen if they found him in the awful state he was in. He couldn't waste one second.

No matter what, he can't let _it_ happen.

He hoped they thought he died from eating some poison mushroom or perhaps drowning in a toilet (or whatever else the Yorozuya could come up with). Hell, he was better off dead anyway. This was already his last resort, and the worst part was, that he didn't even know if it would work.

All he could do was wait.

Only five days ago it had all began, and even then, it was already too late.

* * *

 _Five Days Ago_

Gintoki woke up to find himself surrounded by the odor of blood in the endless smoky grey sky. The former Shiroyasha noticed his clothing was different; he wore a white kimono stained in crimson and had an actual blade in his scabbard.

As he stood up, Gintoki found himself surrounded by the dead. His eyes and ears scanned the room, not even letting a single butterfly's wings escape his vision. He was oddly unfazed by all the bodies; back then, sorrow and mourning meant nothing more than a distraction for the Shiroyasha. There were only two things he kept in mind: Cut, Protect.

Although he was slightly uneasy, Gintoki continued to effortlessly step through the bodies, staining his sandals.

Then he saw _it._

He froze. His mentor's head faced opposite to Gintoki with an uncanny smile almost impossible to see. Shouyou's hair was oddly white, and beside him were two other white haired heads.

Gintoki's stomach churned. He wanted to keep on moving, move on, continue. But his feet stood frozen.

A distant song, no, a haunting hum came from the direction of Shouyou.

 _That sinister hand of yours..._

Gintoki covered his ears, but it only became louder.

 _Will one day take the ones you hold dear..._

He opened his mouth, but for every word he intended to holler, a bandage covered it, leaving him unable to breathe.

 _And crush them to pieces._

The hum quickly disappeared and Gintoki's hands touched his own futon. His breathing filled the room. It was only a nightmare. Looking outside, Gintoki estimated it was around 1 am. He scratched his neck. His head was ringing.

He was awake, right? Still, something rubbed him suspicious.

Insomnia took Gintoki and hit him like a train. He felt an irritating sting in his chest, and his back ached. He could not sleep at all. Walking over to where Kagura slept, he softly opened the door and found the Yato sleeping loudly.

He smiled to himself as he recalled the time Kagura couldn't sleep. She was such a weirdo sometimes. And the time he found Pattsuan up at night making an accurate doll of Otsuu (it was still pretty awful looking to Gintoki)? Creepy but usual.

As he carefully slid the door back, Gintoki tiptoed into the bathroom. Might as well roam around Edo or talk with the old Granny if he was gonna be up.

Grabbing his toothbrush, Gintoki watched himself brush his teeth. In the corner of his eye, he noticed a creepy violet marking on his neck, partially hidden by his green pajamas. Squinting his eyes, he attempted to wipe it off, scrapping Shinpachi's favorite towel against his neck for a few minutes.

The marking was still there.

Gintoki took off his shirt and stared. The markings were spread out all across his back and chest. A faint stinging pain seemed to come from all of them. He looked almost eerie with all the foreign purple wordings on him. The longer he stared at them, the brighter they seemed to glow.

"What the ****...," Gintoki said out loud to his surprise.

Then it hit him. It was _them_.

They- the Blight came back. The very same b******* came back from hell to haunt him once more. His past had finally caught up to him again.

Only it wasn't a nightmare this time. It was a reality.

Gintoki didn't remember much about the Blight. Hell, he had locked all of the past away a long time ago. He had thought they would never come back. After all, the killer of the leader of the Blight was Gintoki himself.

He nervously felt the markings on his neck. His eyes were slowly clouding into a maroon. _What was happening to him_?

Slowly, he put his shirt back on and was ready to head out to Gengai. If someone knew what was happening to him, it would be that old geezer. As he stepped one foot out, a voice shattered the unusual peace.

"Gin-chan..? What are you doing?"

Kagura opened her door and faced him, eyes half closed. She yawned. "What time is it...?"

Gintoki stared at her, then his markings. They were almost impossible to see in the dark of the night. "Shh, Kagura-chan," he whispered softly, hoping for her to not to notice. "I have to go check up on something."

"Mmm...," Kagura mumbled, tossing and turning. Her snoring followed.

A bitter smile escaped Gintoki. And with that, he left the building to never return to it again.

 **A/N: Leave a review on your way out! I'm so so sorry you're one of my favorite characters Gintoki. This will be one wild ride.**


	2. Sleeping children can cause disaster

**A/N: Thank you for all the reviews! I'm glad you're all enjoying the fic!**

As Gintoki walked out the door and ran down the stairs, his instincts stopped him just short of running into his landlady. Otose looked at him with surprise. He was dressed more heavily than usual today; he wore a green robe and a large blue scarf.

"What makes you up so early today?" she asked, studying him. He smiled weakly.

"I'll be back later, okay, Granny?" he replied, ignoring her question.

Otose's cigarette illuminated the corner just barely. "Don't get into trouble," she sighed, and with that, he walked away. Her eyes narrowed at the sight of the plentiful layers of scarves around his neck. She paused and walked away herself, saying nothing.

As Gintoki ran through the streets of Edo, he received many stares. Perhaps it was his odd clothing in the middle of summer; who knows; he could care less as long as the markings didn't show. He had to lay low.

Suddenly, he felt a sharp twist in his stomach. Each step became harder and harder to take. His breathing began to fill his ears, and his vision was getting clouded. _****, he couldn't stop now_. Gintoki clenched his teeth. He could feel the Enmi slowly advancing. Sweat trickled down his neck.

 _Just keep going,_ he thought. _Just keep moving._

But his body said otherwise, and he felt his body fall to the floor. Screams erupted from all sides.

****.

The hum of nature's birds met Gintoki's ears, largely contrasting howls from before. How long had he been asleep? He looked up, ignoring the shaking in his head. The sky was beginning to let the sun take over once more. Five hours? Four? Instantly, his mind jumped into action. His eyes surveyed his surroundings; he sat in a quiet grassland with trees over his head. A small road was in the center of the area, and there was a faint scent of the sea in the air; he was probably at a park by the ocean. For some reason, Gintoki wasn't able to exactly identify where he was. His mind was buzzing too much for him to think or process wherever he was.

As Gintoki stretched his shoulders, his hands touched the unfamiliar hilt on his waist. His fingers jerked back at the icy feel of the handle. Slowly, he pulled out a blade that was definitely not his own.

What the _hell_ did he do last night?

Fortunately for Gintoki, the sword itself was clean, and there had been no sign of bloodshed besides some tattered dirt across his lap. Looking down at himself, he found no difference from last night except a few bandages wrapped around his hands. It looked almost as if someone tended him while he was unconscious.

That was, if there weren't black words inscripted in the bandages.

His eyes widened. Frantically, he pulled the foreign wrappings from himself, ripping many in the process. The remaining bandages leeched on him harder than before, and his head throbbed once more. Gintoki found himself clenching his fists, managing to make the bandages glow purple.

Gintoki could feel his own consciousness slowly slipping away. He no longer could feel his own hands; it was almost as if they were moving by themselves. All he could perceive was the pounding in his head.

In the midst of the pain, Gintoki felt his hands subconsciously grasp the cold hilt of the sword.

He screamed against his own mind.

Stop it, _stop it_!

His hands lifted the sword. It's blade gleamed at the rising sun.

His dulled mind scanned the area. A single crow sat scavenging to his left, and a small child no older than ten slept on a bench to his right. His hand tightened, and he stood up and stared at the kid. The child snored away. He took a step forward.

Wait a minute. What the _****_ was he doing? Gintoki grasped his mind and forced his body to stop.

Hell, no way. _No way_. There was no way he would kill a small brat, and a sleeping one at that.

He had to stop himself. He had to stop the _Emni_. Who knew how long before he completely lost it. Gintoki concealed the thought and focused on his hand.

He rotated the sword to…himself. Yes, that was the only solution. There was no other way.

Oddly, time seemed to slow down. For some reason, his mind wandered off back to his memories of Shouka Sonjuku. _Would Shouyou approve of him right now?_ Perhaps he would find out very soon.

Gintoki closed his eyes and desperately thrusted the sword into himself. He felt empty.

It was quiet.

But then it wasn't.

Gintoki felt his eyes flip back open. There was no sword in his stomach. His eyes turned to his hands. They had stopped midway, and now were resting at his sides. His sword was still in his left hand, resting like the calm before a storm.

Gintoki rose up to his surprise. "****," he muttered, resisting his own movements. He stood up once more and looked to his right. The child was still there. Maybe if he tried again, it would-

"Gin-san?" A familiar voice called. Gintoki froze. Holding a wagasa, Otae stood a few feet from the sleeping kid. A surprised look was all over her face; it was probably due to the fact he was up so early in such a random place.

 _No, no! Not like this, not right now, not-_

Gintoki collapsed back down as if on cue. His robe draped over his bandages. He lowered his head a bit and pretended not to hear. To his dismay, Otae quickly ran over to him. He turned his head away from her and stared at the grass.

"What are you doing _here_? How come Shin-chan isn't with you?" she asked him.

Gintoki continued to observe the wild lawn. "Just had a few drinks," he replied, trying to sound as drunk as possible. His voice was stiff.

Otae didn't look convinced. "Are you sick?" She asked, tilting her head.

"Sick of being tired," Gintoki remarked, and it wasn't even a lie. He felt tired, and just wanted it all to stop. The ringing, the pain, the virus….

But he knew it wasn't that simple.

Otae opened her mouth to protest, but Gintoki suddenly rose up, hands in his pockets. "I should probably get going," he sighed, appearing partly hungover. He walked without another word in the direction of (what he hoped to be) Gengai.

As he walked through the dense forest around him, Gintoki observed the many benches and the playground in a clearing. His mind was beginning to finally clear; he was positive he had been to the park countless times before.

It was definitely the same park from the ridiculous time he met the Renho Fumiko or the time he found Hasegawa laying around moping once more. Or the time Kagura and Shinpachi were arguing about...something.

A soft smile escaped Gintoki. He was lucky to have been surrounded by such idiots.

 **A/N: While I was writing this chapter, I was actually extremely sick to the point I found it hard moving. My head was constantly dizzy and I was always tired…...so I decided that it would be a good time to write pain. Ahaha.**

 **Anyway, I'm feeling better now. Like before, leave a review on your way out. As always, thanks for reading!**


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